What part is there for me?
by Dream.Weaver.Stories
Summary: Eli goes after her sister, Amanda, into the world of Pride and Prejudice. It seems as though she is all alone in this world. However, a girl could always do with a handsome hero to swoop in to save the day. Wickham/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except my character, Eli, and partially my story line. All other rights belong to Jane Austen and ITV. Please do not sue me!

I hate pre-recorded messages. I had been phoning Amanda's phone every couple of minutes for roughly an hour now. I kept getting a message saying that the number was 'unavailable'. She was supposed to meet me an hour and a half ago! She had probably forgotten. After all, lately she had been particularly obsessed with Pride and Prejudice. However, she shouldn't have forgotten about her own bloody sister! I had a feeling she probably had even more on her mind after what I heard from Mum. Michael had proposed to her! There was the possibility that she had locked herself in her apartment and turned her mobile off.

Amanda had always been obsessed with Pride and Prejudice. Growing up she had always tried to get me involved. I had read the book and enjoyed it but didn't have the depth of involvement that Amanda always had with it. I loved the story but found some of the characters rather dull. The only character that added any real drama into the entire story was Wickham.

I gave up on phoning her and left the café that we had arranged to meet in. It was now half past three and so I decided that I would go round to Amanda's house and barge in if I had to. After all, she had stood me up. I took the twenty minute bus journey to her house. By this point, I was rather annoyed and marched purposefully up the stairs.

I was fully prepared for Manda (as I called her) to open the door. So I was rather stunned when a girl with short, dark hair, who I had never seen before, answered the door.

'Hello' she said politely.

'Who the hell are you?' I gaped.

'You must be Miss Price's sister!' she exclaimed excitedly and opened the door wider so that I could get into the house.

'How did you know that?' I was getting more and more confused by the second. 'I have never seen you before in my life!'

'You both have remarkable likeness. You resemble her greatly. She also keeps a… photograph; I believe it is called, of you with her on her mantle-piece' she replied. This girl was getting more and more strange. I understood that I looked like my older sister of course. I was always compared to her; we looked almost identical, looking the same in the face, including our grey eyes. However, I had long and naturally curly hair, and the very distinguishing feature that my hair was naturally auburn hair, where as Manda's was dyed. The part that I did not understand was that she did not know what a photograph was?

I moved through into the living room. I was unbelievably relieved when I saw Piranha sat on the sofa watching TV. She glanced over and gave me a very understanding look when she saw the clear confusion written on my face.

'Eli!' Piranha cried and ran round the sofa to envelope me in a big overdramatic hug. 'Elizabeth, this is Elicia, Amanda's sister. I just need to have a word with her in kitchen if you'll excuse us for one minute' Piranha explained as she dragged me by the arm.

'Who the hell is she and where is Manda!' I whisper/yelled. You know the state that you are in when you want to yell but you can't because you are supposed to be being quiet?

'I don't really know. All I know is that apparently Manda and her are good friends. Amanda's staying at her house in the country while she is staying here for a while. To be honest, I'm not sure if she's a nutter! You should have seen the clothes she was wearing when I found her in the bathroom. She claims that she is Elizabeth Bennet for god's sakes. She looked like she had walked straight out of the books. Then there is the way she speaks, and the way she acts. You know she cleans her teeth with chalk and salt? At first I thought it was a practical joke because I never take Manda's obsession with that book seriously. Then Manda didn't show up at home for a while. Michael has no idea where she is. I thought this woman might be a murderer and that I had let her stay here! Then I actually talked to her. Look, I know this is gonna sound mental but honestly, I think she is telling the truth!' Piranha finished her little rant, panting slightly after talking so fast.

'You actually believe that she is Elizabeth Bennet?' I said incredulously.

'Yes'

'That still doesn't answer where the hell Manda is. I have another question too, or maybe a couple of dozen! How is this possible? She is a fictional character! How the hell did she get here?' By this point, I was so confused that I was just yelling at Piranha.

'Excuse me, but I could not help but overhear.' Elizabeth said as she slowly entered the kitchen. 'I know perfectly well now that I am a fictional character from the novel named Pride and Prejudice. I have read this novel and find it peculiar but strangely accurate in its depiction of my family. I myself do not know how this is possible. However, I find life here more preferable to my character. I enjoy modern living and Piranha has got me a job as a nanny. As to where Miss Price is, she will be staying with my family, I sent my father a letter telling him to trust her. She will be perfectly safe there I assure you. As for how I got here, I entered through the door in Miss Price's bathroom.'

'Right' I struggled to get out, more confused now than ever. 'I'm just going to…' I trailed off as I struggled to wrap my mind around the events as I almost stumbled to the bathroom. 'That door there?'

'That is the one' Elizabeth said. She couldn't possibly be telling the truth. The door was part of the wall! It must be the joining wall with the neighbours attached house. It couldn't lead anywhere!

I stepped into the bath and looked at it closely and then looked back incredulously at Elizabeth and Piranha. I turned back to the door and gave it a slight push, to see what would happen. Miraculously it actually swung open and revealed to me a dimly lit corridor. This couldn't be happening! Piranha and Elizabeth looked back at me with open mouths, completely shocked that it had opened.

'If you both believe what you have been telling me, then why are you both so shocked that it opened?' I reasoned.

'The door has opened for no one besides Miss Price before. It has not opened since she has left. In spite of the many times I tried to gain admittance back into my house when I first arrived here' Elizabeth explained.

'I'm not sure I actually believed any of this before! This is some crazy shit!' Piranha gaped.

'Elizabeth, you need to go back there and get Amanda back!' I stepped to the side to allow Elizabeth through the door.

'I shall fetch her, but I have no desire to stay there. I much prefer your world here. It has so much more freedom' she agreed.

'Fine, just please get my sister' I begged. Elizabeth passed me but as soon as she reached the door, it swung closed in her face.

'It looks like I cannot. It has only ever been Miss Price or apparently yourself who has been allowed to open the door. It seems you both must have a purpose in my world somewhere.' It sounded like a reasonable idea to me.

'Fine, I'll go get her myself' I said as I started towards the door.

'Wait, if you enter my world, you may perhaps want to borrow the clothing that I came into this world wearing'

Elizabeth led me off into the bedroom that used to be Manda's but it looked as though Elizabeth had taken it over temporarily. She pulled out a floor length gown in true Georgian fashion along with a small coat and a bonnet. I went into the bathroom and changed although I deliberately left the bonnet on the floor. There was no way I was going to wear a bonnet. The clothing felt so strange, however I doubted that I was going to be in it long; my plan was to go in, get Manda out and leave. I swept my curly hair into a side ponytail over my shoulder and allowed some curls to fall down the sides of my face. It wasn't really Georgian but it would look better than wearing my hair down.

I allowed Piranha and Elizabeth back into the room. I gave Piranha a hug and told her that I would be back soon with Manda.

'What if you get stuck there like Manda has?' I hadn't really thought of this and then shrugged the idea off.

'At least I can make sure that Manda is safe. As long as we're together we'll be fine, I'm sure.' I attempted to reassure Piranha and myself at the same time.

I took one last look at the two of them stood in the bathroom. I pushed open the door again and stepped through into the corridor. I stepped forward as the door closed behind me, leaving the world I knew behind me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

I walked slowly along the corridor until I found a set of stairs. I descended them slowly and guessed that I was heading in the right direction as the house became better lit as I went. As I reached the bottom, a younger girl with blonde hair walked past and then seemed to realise that I was there and became startled.

'Goodness gracious, Miss Price, you startled me! I thought you were at Mr Bingley's home with Jane? We were sent a message that you would be nursing Jane and would not return until she does.' The young girl continued. I was carefully trying to figure out which one of the younger Bennet girls she could be but this did not work.

'I'm very sorry to intrude. I am Miss Price, but I am Elicia, Amanda's sister. She's not here you say? Is there any chance that I could see her? I need to speak to her urgently' I tried my best to sound as if I belonged.

'Oh goodness gracious me. Of course, I now see the differences between the two of you. You have come down from Hammersmith to see your sister? Miss Price was telling us all about the otter hunting. I'm guessing from your clothing that you do not share Miss Price's passion for the sport' the girl rambled.

'Otter-hunting? Errrm…. No? I never really found enjoyment in hunting of any kind….' I stuttered. An awkward silence then fell upon us.

'Oh how rude of me. You have introduced yourself and yet you have no idea who I am. I am Kitty Bennet. Unfortunately, you won't be able to see Miss Price until the morning at the earliest. I must take you to my father to introduce you.'

Kitty led me to the nearest door and knocked and waited until she heard a mutter of 'come in, if you must' and led me into the study.

'Father, this is Miss Elicia Price, who has also joined us from Hammersmith in search of her sister. I found her on the servants' stairs' Kitty informed her father.

'Thank you Kitty, you may leave' he dismissed her. 'I am Claude Bennet' which was met by a small laugh from me. 'You and your sister are rather alike. My name was met with the same reaction from her. She also seemed to have a fondness for our servant's quarters. Have you any news from my daughter?'

'Oh yes! She is doing very well in Hammersmith. She has adapted to her life there well… very well in fact' I murmured more to myself than to Mr Bennet. 'However, I think she plans to stay in Hammersmith for a while longer yet'

'Yes, Miss Price told me that she enjoys the peace there for writing her book. I am guessing my daughter has informed you that your sister is not here at the present moment. She resides at Netherfield Park with my eldest daughter Jane, due to Jane being struck by illness. I believe Miss Price is nursing my daughter. You may visit Netherfield in morning, however due to the small nature of our home, we only have one carriage and so unfortunately you may have to walk. You are more than welcome to stay the night here. Miss Price was sleeping in Elizabeth's bed and due to her absence you are more than welcome to take the bed for the night'

'Thank you so much. I will leave in the morning to find my sister but I thank you for your hospitality' I gave a small curtsy, in fear of losing my balance. I then exited the room after being given brief directions to Elizabeth/Amanda's room.

The room was so elegant and I collapsed straight on to the bed with so many thoughts about this strange world running through my head. These quickly disappeared as my exhaustion caught up with me and I swiftly fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

I woke to sunlight streaming through the curtains. I had nothing else to wear so I guessed that this would have to do. I brushed out my hair and fixed it into the same hairstyle as the day before. I was dying to brush my teeth however examined the twigs, chalk and salt in front of me and thought better of it. Hopefully, I wouldn't be here long and if I was here for longer than expected then I was sure that Manda would be able to instruct me on the fine art of brushing my teeth without injuring my gums.

I had no idea if I would be welcome to eat, Mr Bennet seemed friendly enough, however what I remembered from the books, Mrs Bennet may not be so obliging. I followed the sound of voices into a dining room and sat at the table was Kitty and two other girls that I guessed were Lydia and Mary.

'Miss Price, come join us for some breakfast. I was just telling my sisters how unexpected your arrival was. Please feel free to help yourself to any food or drink' Kitty told me and the proceeded to introduce her sisters. Lydia was a pretty young girl but I was aware of how much trouble she could be. Mary seemed timid as in the book and she seemed to be the sensible one of the family. The family then ate comfortably, quite peacefully except for the relaxing small talk that I was perfectly happy just listening to. Mostly, of what they thought may be happening at Netherfield Park.

However, the peace was soon broken when Mrs Bennet practically trotted into the dining room, prancing with glee. 'This letter has been sent saying that Jane is almost fully recovered we must take the carriage to Netherfield and fetch her at once!' Mrs Bennet told her girls excitedly at the prospect of going to Netherfield. She then saw me and gasped 'Oh lord, you're back already!'

I didn't take this as a good sign. Obviously my sister had failed to make a good impression on Mrs Bennet. Perhaps, I could stay in her good books if I remained polite to her; you never know when you may need an ally. 'I beg your pardon Mrs Bennet. You mistake me for my sister. My name is Elicia Price. I hate to intrude upon your hospitality any longer than necessary but perhaps I could come with you in the carriage to Netherfield as I urgently need to speak with my sister'

I could tell that Mrs Bennet was taken aback by my manners. Apparently, I was better at this fitting in thing than I actually thought.

'Of course you can my dear. I would hate to keep you from your family. Is there any chance that you will be taking Miss Price with you when you return to Hammersmith?' she asked slyly.

'I do hope she will return with me when I go back to Hammersmith' I smiled back, trying not to feel offended on behalf of my sister.

'Girls, put on your best dresses. We must depart at once and we must try to make a good impression' Mrs Bennet clucked.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

We arrived at Netherfield after a very uncomfortable carriage ride. I longed for the suspension of a car. We were shown into the house by servants and escorted to a drawing room. Upon a couch sat a very fine lady who I could only guess was Caroline Bingley and a handsome man stood behind her. I knew instantly that this was Mr Darcy and imagined that Amanda must have been in trouble. She always did fall for the tall, dark and handsome men that never appealed to me. He definitely fell under the category of tall and handsome and by the evil looks he was giving the Bennet family I would think dark also.

The Bennet family had already been introduced to Darcy and Caroline but the duty fell to Mrs Bennet to introduce me. Mr Darcy looked at me surprised and Caroline only managed a sneer which I felt very much that I would like to slap off of her face. Mrs Bennet then managed to babble continuously that the rest of us seemed to tune out until a slim blonde girl, Jane, came through the door escorted by Mr Bingley and my sister.

'Jane! My heart has not been right since I discovered you were gone' Mrs Bennet exclaimed as she went to hug her daughter. This was the point that Manda realised that I was stood with the Bennet girls.

'Eli!' she screamed and ran and hugged the life out of me. 'What are you doing here?' she whispered in my ear.

'I came to find you' I whispered back.

'How weird is this? We are in Pride and Prejudice! But everything is going wrong. Elizabeth hasn't met Darcy! I kissed Bingley and then had to make him fall in love with Jane by telling him I was a lesbian' Manda squeaked in her excitement and panic.

'Shhh… calm down, we'll sort things out when we can talk properly' I hissed to her. I was always the more rational one out of us.

Whilst we had been having our whispered conversation, the rest of the party had continued to talk about Jane's illness.

'With the permission of my host's I am quite ready to return home' Jane nodded to her mother.

Beside me I heard Manda mutter 'Come on Bingers' and I almost laughed aloud. I knew she desperately wanted the story to go right and for Bingley to fall in love with Jane.

'Oh right you are' he said embarrassed. However, I for one did not miss the nervous look that he cast at Darcy and immediately my suspicions were raised. 'Errm, I'll bid you good day madam'

'That was pathetic' Amanda muttered again and she immediately moved to Jane's side to give her some comfort for Bingley's behaviour.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

The coach journey back to the Bennet household was equally uncomfortable as the journey to Netherfield. It was made even more uncomfortable by Mrs Bennet's clear disdain for my sister.

'Do the two of you have any brothers?' Mrs Bennet asked.

'One brother, Kevin' Manda replied.

'How lovely' was the reply; however I got the feeling that it was less than sincere. 'Does Kevin share your commodious residence?'

'I wouldn't share a bag of chips with Kev if it could be avoided. He's pretty feral. He's fifteen' Manda replied. I tried to hide my quiet laughing that I couldn't contain. Our little brother was a pain in the arse and still lived with our mother, whilst the two of us had left home to find our own homes. Manda had found her home to share with Piranha and I had found my own little flat about half an hour away from Manda's. I also laughed quietly as I realised that despite her being here longer, and being obsessed with the period, Manda couldn't quite control her modern way of speech.

I realised then that part of the reason that I was so uncomfortable was that I was sitting on my dress in such a way that it was very tight down the back. I stood slightly to readjust the skirt of my dress. Unfortunately for me, this was the point in time that the whole carriage jerked and I badly twisted by ankle as I went flying sideways into Manda.

The rest of the girls looked around, startled. I attempted to get off of Manda and found that I was in severe pain if I attempted to put any weight onto my ankle. I gave a loud gasp of pain and collapsed back onto Manda.

'Are you ok?' Manda immediately asked.

'I've twisted my ankle, I can't put any weight on it' I replied.

'I'll go find out what happened' Manda said after she had gently helped me back onto the seat. She opened the carriage door and hopped out. She was followed quickly by the rest of the curious Bennet girls.

I gently scooted over to look out of the window and saw the cause of the problem. One of the carriages wheels had snapped into lots of pieces that now littered the ground. Due to lack of choice, I was forced to remain in the carriage until something could be done about the carriage wheel once the driver had walked to the nearest village. What sort of carriage driver couldn't ride a horse anyway?

Manda was involved in a quiet conversation with Jane which I couldn't quite make out due to the ramblings of the rest of the Bennet girls and the loud Mrs Bennet. Somehow I felt isolated in this story. It seemed that Manda had found her role in the story and I realised now why she hadn't tried harder to come home. She was leaving in her dream world and it seemed as though she had almost replaced Elizabeth Bennet in this story. What was I doing here though? I was alone and although I fitted in, I would have no friends here besides my sister. What part was there for me?

My thoughts were cut off as Kitty yelled 'Mama, see, we are rescued?' as everyone turned to look at something on the road and whispered excitedly. I looked out of the back window of the carriage to see a carriage speeding towards us.

As the carriage pulled up alongside us, from the carriage window I could see red militia uniforms within the carriage. As it stopped a very handsome man sprung out of the carriage. He was very good looking with short brown hair with sideburns and the most beautiful brown eyes. He was also in a militia uniform. Just watching him caused a blush to spring to my cheeks. He bowed slightly and touched his hat as he greeted us with, 'Ladies! I rather form the impression that you are satisfied to meet His Majesty's militia' he exclaimed with a smirk as the girls curtsied to him.

'Gentlemen, acquaint yourself with the roof. We have acquired a most precious cargo that must be stowed within' he said as he rapped on the carriage door and more men in uniform exited the carriage.

'You are most kind, sir. To whom do we owe the pleasure of this most felicitous offer?' Mrs Bennet was clearly already weighing up marriage of one of her daughters to this man.

'Captain Wickham, madam.' He said, again giving a bow. 'All felicity is entirely mine.' Mrs Bennet and her daughters smiled excitedly where as mine and Manda's jaws fell open in shock. This was the bastard that nearly eloped with Georgiana and was destined to marry Lydia. I was extremely confused when a pang of jealous shot through my chest. I didn't even know the guy!

'Sir, one of our party is injured. She has damaged her ankle and will need helping into the carriage' Mary stopped and informed Wickham before climbing into the carriage after her mother and sisters. Manda waited outside and opened the carriage door.

'That's Wickham!' she hissed quietly in my ear.

'I heard. Just get in the carriage, I'll be there in a minute' I replied, all the while watching Wickham approach over her shoulder. He was smirking arrogantly at me, especially when he caught the slight blush on my cheeks. Manda pushed past him and gave him a disdainful look as she passed him, clearly giving him a warning that she did not trust him in the slightest. She was soon out of sight in the carriage.

'I believe that you have injured your ankle, are unable to walk and are in need of some assistance, Miss…' he trailed off in wait of a reply.

'Price' I said sharply.

'Captain George Wickham at you service, my lady' he bowed deeply and once again smirked. 'A lady as pretty as you may call me George' I only nodded in reply and said nothing.

'Would you not do me the honour of allowing me to know your Christian name also?' he said, almost charmingly and I was in danger of blushing again.

'Elicia. Look, are you going to help me to your carriage or not?' I said sharply. If I wasn't careful I may actually like this arrogant man. I could not allow myself that, especially as he needed to marry Lydia.

'Of course, Miss Price. I just thought we should have at least some acquaintance before I did' he said, smirking deeply. He then swept his arm under my legs and back and picked me up bridal-style.

'What do you think you are doing? This is hardly appropriate! My sister will likely murder you for this.' I struggled and couldn't prevent a blush from flooding my face as I was pressed close to his well-toned body that I could feel.

'Will you stop struggling or I'll end up dropping you and that won't be very productive for your ankle' he chided me. I also wasn't helping myself as I struggled and he pulled me close to prevent from dropping me, his hand accidentally brushed against my bum and I immediately stopped moving before I caused myself anymore embarrassment.

'Thank you. I am doing this as you are unable to walk and this is the easiest method of transporting you from one carriage to another. It is not entirely appropriate but it is quickest… and I suppose I was never one for convention.' The smirk returned to his face as he told me all of this and then carried me to the carriage. However, I am certain that it was no accident this time that every time he took a step, his hand would brush against by bum.

He finally set me down on a seat and nodded at me, smirking even more if that was even possible. I also now had clearly lost the favour of Mrs Bennet; she clearly thought that I was coming in the way of marriage prospects for her daughters. Wickham closed the door behind me and climbed onto the roof with the other officers.

Once we arrived back at the Bennet residence, the girls climbed out before me and I heard Mrs Bennet offer Wickham some tea which he declined. However, he did request that he be allowed to visit some other time which made Manda and I scowl.

Manda went to exit the carriage and Wickham offered her his hand. Manda was taken aback and then sneered 'Back off Wickham, I know you.'

'But I have not had the pleasure' Wickham replied, quite astonished that someone was not taken aback by his charm.

'Get used to that' Manda wittily replied as she jumped out of the carriage and I gave a small laugh as she walked away. Wickham heard my laugh and gave me a strange smile that seemed so genuine, I was momentarily shocked.

Wickham then turned to the rest of the ladies and proclaimed, 'The first duty of an officer is, after all, gaiety.' This statement caused the girls to laugh and even me and Manda to smirk to each other; that was purely though because of the modern meaning of the word 'gay'. The rest of the girls and Manda followed Mrs Bennet into the house to greet Mr Bennet after I had assured Manda that I would be fine and would make it into the house momentarily.

Wickham turned back to me. 'Would you care for some help?' he said almost too politely.

'As long as you don't carry me again, that would be lovely' I returned the politeness; two could play at that game.

Wickham proceeded to wrap his arms securely around me and lift me gently down from the carriage and placed me gingerly on my feet. I hissed in pain as my right foot came into contact with the ground and my ankle was jolted.

'You see, it is no good. You would not even be able to hobble in this state. Whatever would you like me to do to help?' he asked innocently.

'Fine. You win.' I huffed. 'Just get me into the house… please'

'As you wish' he smiled and once more scooped me up as if I weighed nothing and walked comfortably with me into the house, smiling fondly down at me all the while. I instructed him to carry to me to Elizabeth's room where I could lay down and rest my ankle. As I passed the Bennet's, Mrs Bennet was talking rapidly to her daughters and I heard the name Collins. Shit! Collins must have arrived. I always found his character very creepy and wanted to avoid him if at all possible.

Wickham placed me down on the bed and then stood over me, just watching.

'You can leave the room now. Thank you for your help, but let's not make the situation anymore inappropriate then it already is. So, I think you should probably leave my bedchambers' I scolded him.

'I think that's a very good idea' scowled Amanda from the doorway.

Wickham smiled pleasantly at me and just gave a brief nod to Manda. 'Very well then; I shall leave you to rest… Elicia' he smirked as he taunted me with using my first name in front of my sister. 'I shall make sure that I see you again soon.' With this he swept from the room, turning once more in the doorway to give me one last look.

I merely stared at the spot that he had disappeared from and Manda looked from the doorway to my staring multiple times and then seemed to shake herself to get back to the matter at hand. Manda informed me that Collins was worse than he actually was. She informed me of her inability to go home. She was so worried that she had messed up her favourite story through her presence here and I'm not sure she actually wanted to return home until she had fixed the story. I doubted her ability to actually do so due to the fact that she was missing the main character of the story, Elizabeth, who was equally stuck in our world. She said that she needed to go speak to Elizabeth and quickly disappeared to vent some of her anger at the door that had begun this whole situation.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Over the next couple of days, I was bed ridden. Mr Bennet had called me the local doctor and he had examined my ankle. It was merely twisted and all I needed was rest for the next couple of days and to not exert myself for at least a week after that. The younger girls visited me often as they seemed to have taken to me well and sat and gossiped for a while. Jane had not taken to me as she was very shy and I had never had a conversation alone with her. However, she did pick me some roses from the garden and arranged them in a vase on my table. I seemed to have claimed the room for my own as Manda had been given the guest room to stay in by Mr Bennet because I was slightly indisposed to be able to move. I seemed to miss all of the excitement around the house during those days however Manda between her meddling managed to find time to fill me in on what was going on.

Manda seemed to be constantly rushing around trying to fix the story. Mr Collins was taken with Jane and due to her believing that Bingley wasn't interested in her, she was not objecting. Collins had almost proposed to Jane in the garden when Manda burst into the garden with Charlotte Lucas, who was meant to marry Collins in the story. Manda only succeeded in upsetting both Charlotte and Jane. As a result, I was sat on the edge of the bed, staring gob-smacked at the engagement ring on my sister's finger.

'How the hell did this happen?' I asked, completely confused.

'Charlotte won't marry him now. If I didn't do something then he would marry Jane. She needs to single for Bingley! I won't really have to marry Collins, will I?' she asked me. I remained silent as I had no idea how to answer that question. If Manda wanted things to go right then unless Jane became engaged to Bingley soon, then the answer was yes, Manda would have to marry Collins to protect Jane. This answer seemed to dawn on Manda as well as she sunk on to the bed 'Oh God, I am! Sorry!' she said as she realised that she had jostled my ankle when she sat down.

'Don't worry, it's almost healed now. I can't do anything strenuous but I can walk again without it hurting' I smiled. 'What are you going to do Manda? You can't marry Collins!'

'I'm going to have to' Manda said determinedly. 'I can't let this story get messed up because of me.'

Kitty, Lydia and Mary came running into the room at this point and informed us that we had guests and were required in the drawing room. Manda helped me gently down the stairs and into the room where we were faced by the Bennets, Mr Darcy, My Bingley and Mr Collins, minus Mrs Bennet who could be heard sobbing in the background. As soon as Manda entered the room, Mr Collins swept her up and pulled her in front of him, holding out her hand for everyone to see the ring. I was left to prop myself up against a pillar and watch my sister look extremely uncomfortable next to her future husband.

Mr Bennet then turned to introducing people that had not met. However, I turned around to gape as Wickham walked through the door. What the hell was he doing back here?

Mr Bennet also noticed him enter and asked 'And you, sir, are?'

'Papa, this is our saviour, Captain Wickham' Lydia replied immediately, she was obviously already taking a liking to him. Again, I became confused as I felt jealous. I couldn't be jealous! I detested the man!

'Very well, our saviour, Captain Wickham. This gentleman is Mr Darcy.' Mr Bennet introduced. Manda and I shared a look as Darcy ignored Wickham despite his bow, and turned away to the back of the room. Wickham then turned his attention to me and I was unable to escape very fast and somehow ended up getting caught up just staring into his eyes.

I was eventually broken out of the reverie when Mary started playing the piano and people began to mingle within the room. Manda immediately escaped Collins and was having a conversation with Darcy.

Wickham immediately wrapped his arm around me to better support my standing. His arm around me and his body close to mine caused me to blush and I guessed that to everyone else in the room we looked rather intimate.

'What are you doing here?' I asked him attempting to avoid his eyes.

'Am I not allowed to drop by to see how my favourite Miss Price is faring? Your ankle is better?' he asked, talking with his face directly next to mine so that I could feel his breath on my ear.

'Much better, thank you; I just need to rest it.' I was now getting very evil looks from Mr Darcy who was no longer preoccupied with my sister who had been swept off and looked to be having an argument with Jane in the corner of the room. 'This is not appropriate. People are noticing, step away from me'

'You are always so concerned with what is appropriate Elicia. I will step away when I hear my Christian name come from your lips. Call me George, Elicia' he whispered and this time his voice made me shiver; causing him to smirk as I was so close to him that I couldn't conceal it.

'Let go of me Wickham' this only succeeded in making him hold me closer. 'Wickham, let me go!' I hissed. 'For God's sake, George' I hissed louder, accidentally letting his name slip out. I had started referring to him as George in my head when I thought about him and in my anger had let it slip. No matter how embarrassed I was, he relaxed his grip on me and then reluctantly let go. I leant against the pillar once more to steady myself. He nodded to me once and then rushed out of the door, leaving me breathless and shocked.

I needed to talk to my sister about this. Wasn't Wickham supposed to be interested in Lydia? Was I ruining the story as well by diverting George's attention? Lydia was sat in the corner of the room, sulking that George had left without talking to her. I looked around for my sister but she had disappeared.

I hobbled outside to see Manda seemingly reluctantly having a conversation with Collins. I laughed when Collins leaned in to kiss her and she quickly walked away from him. I slowly hobbled down the stairs to see Wickham clearly annoying my sister. I heard her say 'Oh God. Come on then. Get it over with. Give me the shtick. Tell me all about Darcy robbing you of what was rightfully yours.'

'So you have heard about this.' I suddenly felt rather foolish. I had been falling for George Wickham and I had completely forgotten about what he had already done. He had purposefully seduced Georgiana to get back at Darcy. Why did I suddenly feel very betrayed?

'I read about it. Take my tip, Wickham; don't waste your time with this lot. Especially Lydia because I'm watching you. Every time you try to pull a stroke, I will be right behind you with a big neon sign saying "Don't trust this guy"' My sister continued.

'What is neon?'

'Wait and see. Oh, and don't think I have noticed. Keep your hands to yourself and away from my sister' she huffed away from Wickham and nodded to me as she passed. She then made her way towards Bingley and Darcy who had made there way outside. I could here them talking about something and then saw Jane and Bingley walk away together into the garden. Apparently, Manda was scheming again to try and get Jane and Bingley together.

'Elicia' George intruded on my observing. 'What will you do when your sister moves away to live with Mr Collins? Will you return to Hammersmith?' This was a very good question. Without Manda I knew no one here. What the hell would I do?

'I will probably move with her for a short time. To make sure she settles into her new life' I made up on the spot.

'I fear that your life with Mr and Mrs Collins may be short of gaiety. If you find yourself nonplussed by the anticipated pleasures of living with a married couple, call upon me and I shall redress the deficit.' He said charmingly and slipped a piece of paper into my hand containing an address. He then placed a quick kiss onto the back of my hand and my hand tingled delightedly. I had to stop this, I couldn't fall in love with him, I had to push him away.

'Full marks for trying George but I wouldn't have me deficit redressed by you if you were the last man on earth.' I replied and then walked away quickly, not looking back at him in case I felt the sudden urge to apologise to him. I walked back into the house and straight into Elizabeth's bedroom.

Amanda walked in a short time later. 'There is going to be a ball at Netherfield! I thought Bingley was going to propose to Jane! I'm still stuck with Collins!' she exclaimed and sat next to me.

'I'm in love with Wickham' I announced as it suddenly hit me and tears began to roll uncontrollably yet silently down my face.

'What? How? When?' Amanda struggled to accept this. 'How did this happen? What about what happened with Georgiana?'

'I bloody well know that. I don't know how it happened. He's just too damn charming for his own good. I know that he's been an absolute bastard in the past and I know that he is destined to marry Lydia. I know I can't have him and I know I shouldn't want to have him. I can't help it Manda. I didn't want to fall in love with him and now it's my fate to be broken hearted' I cried. Amanda didn't reply she just enveloped me in her arms and rocked me back and forth like she used to when we were little.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Before I knew it, we were in a carriage on the way to the Netherfield Ball. Both me and Manda had borrowed the most posh of Elizabeth's dresses to attend the ball in. The last couple of days I had been very subdued and only Manda knew why. However the Bennets sensed that something was wrong with me and so, after a few attempts on the part of the girls to get me to talk, they left me alone to be upset in solitude. Amanda tried to make me forget about him however she only succeeded for a short time and inevitably when she left my thoughts returned to George Wickham.

All the way to Netherfield I stared out of the window ignoring the small talk that was being made around me. I only took interest when we approached Netherfield and it was lit up magnificently. It looked beautiful.

I heard Manda say absent-mindedly 'You could park a bloody jumbo!' I then burst out laughing and everyone's attention was diverted from Manda's comment to me. Everyone looked at me as if I had grown a second head. I had only been subdued for a couple of days, give me a break! I immediately felt uncomfortable under their gazes and so returned to staring out of the window and wiped the smile from off my face.

I had hoped to slip into the ball unnoticed and remain inconspicuous. I wasn't really in a partying mood. I cringed as I realised that they were announcing names as you came in through the door. However, while Manda was questioning Collins about his middle name (zeal of the Lord) I managed to sneak past without being noticed by the doorman.

I merely wandered around the room and watched everyone else enjoying themselves. I watched amusedly as my sister was made to dance with her fiancée. Then came the slightly awkward moment where she changed partner and ended up dancing and conversing with none other than Mr Darcy. I was beginning to suspect that my sister was starting to have feelings for Mr Darcy. I hoped things worked out alright for her. After all, Elizabeth was not in the story to get in the way of her marrying Darcy. I hoped she could have the happy ending I knew I would never get. However, it did look slightly doubtful when Mr Darcy stormed off in the middle of the dance. Darcy was quickly replaced by none other than George. I didn't even know he would be here tonight. My stomach sunk but also fluttered with excitement seemingly at the same time. I was so confused. I walked closer to the dancing to here what he was saying.

'Darcy has many virtues; gallantry on the dance floor is not one of them' George was telling Manda. 'Now where is your sister? I did not hear her name announced. Is she well?' he asked. If I had been optimistic I would have said he sounded worried about me.

'For God's sake' shouted Amanda in frustration at not getting to talk to Darcy. 'Ask her yourself' she shouted and stormed off.

George turned around and gaped at me in surprise. I immediately turned away from him and tried to get away. 'Elicia' I heard him call to me as I carried on walking out of the grand front doors and into the cool night air. Fortunately as he passed them he was waylaid by the three youngest Bennet sisters.

I had hidden myself out of sight of the main doors and in the garden. Unfortunately, George didn't take long to locate me after he had spoken with the girls. He walked towards me slowly, almost as if I was a skittish fawn that would run into the night and be lost to him forever if he made any sudden movements. It was then that I realised that I probably looked as delicate as a fawn right then. I hadn't eaten much or had much sunlight in the last couple of days. I must look dreadful.

'You will catch your death of cold if you stay out here much longer' he said slowly. I didn't dignify this with a response and even refused to look at him. I just kept staring up at the stars in the night sky, wondering if those would be the same stars that were shining back home.

'Elicia… please talk to me. Don't run away from me again.' He then murmured quietly to himself, 'I don't think I could bare it if you did.' I don't think he actually intended for me to hear that. I was so completely confused. I felt like I was being split in two; being dragged in two completely different directions. On one hand, this was the awful man that I had read about; he seduced Georgiana, he gambled, he tried to cheat Darcy out of money and he would eventually elope with Lydia for money. On the other side, this man in front of me seemed completely incapable of that. He was sweet and charming and I was completely in love with him. However, one big factor in all of this was that at some point I would have to return home. I couldn't stay here; I couldn't get attached.

I was saved from having to make a response by a very angry Amanda. 'You told everyone that my father was a fishmonger! You don't actually know what you have done do you?' she shouted, disturbing the peace that had surrounded the garden.

'I saved you from a marriage that you did not wish to be in. Is that not good enough for you?' he retorted.

'You bastard. Eli, are you coming? I'm going back to Longbourne. I've just been kicked out of the ball for kneeing Collins in the balls after he broke off our engagement and told me I wasn't a lady' she ranted.

'I'll be there in a minute' I said quietly and Manda stormed off towards the carriage. George looked down at me with hope that I wanted to speak with him before I left.

'You don't understand what you've done do you? Now Collins will pursue Jane and we will be in an even bigger mess than before. Amanda will never forgive herself if Jane is forced into married life with Collins. Jane deserves her happy ending' I told him quietly as I could not bring myself to raise my voice any louder.

'Eli…' he tried out. He had never heard my nickname before. He seemed to roll it off his tongue as if testing out whether he enjoyed saying it. It sounded wonderful in his voice. He obviously liked it as he started again, 'Eli, forgive me. I did not know. I thought you would be happy that your sister could escape this marriage. Forgive me?' he begged as he placed both of his hands on my cheeks to look me straight in the eyes.

'I have to go' I said quietly as I pulled away. I didn't get far when he pulled me back.

'Eli, please' he said again. However, this time I just pulled away and walked to the carriage. However, once again I was left in tears because of George. However this time it was because I had a feeling that he was beginning to love me in return. I couldn't let him do that. He had to marry Lydia and I had to return home. I couldn't let both of us get hurt like that should he actually love me. We weren't meant for each other; that killed me inside.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

The worst happened. Mrs Bennet sent Jane to secure a marriage proposal from Mr Collins and her plan worked perfectly. Jane married Mr Collins and I couldn't believe what was happening. For weeks my melancholy mood had returned but this time my sister joined me. There was nothing we could do to salvage this story; Jane was now set to marry Collins.

The dreaded day arrived and I watched as the worst happened. Everyone cheered as Mr and Mrs Collins climbed into an open-topped carriage. Mr Bennet couldn't even bring himself to congratulate his daughter and I understood why. He knew that she would be deeply unhappy in her marriage; especially watching as the couple kissed awkwardly for the crowd.

'What a bloody mess!' said Manda as she walked towards the carriage beside me. We watched sadly as Jane threw the bouquet and it was caught by Charlotte Lucas. Manda then conversed with Charlotte Lucas as I wandered away from the crowd slightly, it was giving me headache.

I then wished I hadn't as I was confronted with George leaning against the wall, watching the proceedings. I stood by him and said nothing as we watched the carriage containing the newly wedded couple drive off.

'Are you still very angry at me?' he asked gently but not looking at me.

'My dad's an accountant. Much more interesting if he actually was a fishmonger' I replied; trying hard not to encourage him at all. However I looked at him and he had an arrogant smile on his face. Gone was the George that seemed to genuinely care for me and in his place was the flirty, arrogant Wickham from the book.

'How very alike we are. We see the world the same way. We have the same scent. I can smell myself on you' he whispered as he came very close to me. He leaned in and came very close to my lips. I could feel him breathing; I could almost taste him. Then he swiftly walked away and left me standing there like an idiot. So why was I still inexplicably in love with him?

Manda came over to me while I was still stood there, shocked by George's behaviour. The arrogance had returned and yet I still found it very attractive.

'Mrs Bennet has thrown us out of the house. We can return and collect our belongings and then we have to leave. We have nowhere to go' Manda despaired. Yes, that was just what I needed to top the day off and turn it into the worst day of my life.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

I woke in the morning and went to go find Amanda as Mr Bennet had refused to let us be thrown out that night. However, morning had come and we had to leave. Manda wasn't in her room. I followed a strange banging noise coming from the servants' quarters. I walked up the stairs to find Manda attacking the door that brought us here with a heavy duty pick-axe and shouting for Elizabeth. I simply watched silently until she became exhausted. I watched as Mr Bennet also followed the noise and came across Amanda. I decided to leave him to talk to Manda in private and so nodded politely at him and then went back to my room.

I decided to fold all the clothes that I had borrowed from Lizzie and replace them in the dresser. As I folded one of the dresses a small piece of paper fluttered to the floor. I put the dress away and then looked at it. It was the stupid address that George had given me when he told me to visit him if I was looking for excitement. I folded the paper and put it in my bra; after all it was a happy memory that I had of him.

I went back to Amanda's room and found her changed back into her modern/otter-hunting clothes. However, Mrs Bennet entered behind me as Amanda quickly put away a copy of Pride and Prejudice in her jacket that I didn't even know she had with her.

'On your departure, my daughters may seek to gage you in conversation. I would prefer it if they weren't successful. Your parting words of wisdom are treasures my girls can live without.' Mrs Bennet told the both of us. I simply nodded, however Amanda stepped forward.

'You really do think I'm some sort of disease don't you?' she said quietly. I knew she had taken what Mrs Bennet had said to her to heart. We left the house quickly and quietly and were soon alone on the road.

'Are you ok?' I asked her.

'She really hates me and I understand why. I've mucked up so much in this story and I can't put it right. She only hates you because of Wickham but she doesn't really hold that against you. It's mostly just because you are my sister. She hates me with a passion. I deserve it. Now, I've got us kicked out and stranded in Georgian England' Manda started to cry.

'There is one place we could go' I said very reluctantly as I pulled out the address from my bra.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

We arrived in a small town and I soon realised that he had given me the address of a pub or tavern. I was sure at this point that it would be a trick and that we had come all the way out here for nothing. However, there were militia men around and so we proceeded to go into the pub. Although, Amanda's modern dress sense was getting very strange looks from the locals.

We asked at the bar if George Wickham was known here and we were, to my surprise, directed to his room. He sat in a comfortable chair and looked shocked as soon as Amanda entered yet he fixed that smug smirk on his face. Yet when he noticed that I entered behind Manda, his expression somehow softened and I averted my gaze from him.

'Spunk. Do you know the word? It's soldiers slang; the men use it to applaude a particular species of reckless courage. To my eye, the both of you have spunk.' He said walking towards us. He then addressed Amanda directly 'Hmm, how you hate me and yet here you are.'

'Well what choice do I have?' she retorted, exasperated.

'Well, precisely. Now you wish to crawl back into society and for this you need me. So, prepare the meagerest of ingredients with confidence and style and you shall serve a banquet. How much money do you have?'

'A pound' Manda sighed and looked at me. I shook my head to indicate my total lack of money.

'Well I have two. I shall give you one of them and together we shall buy you a dress. Elicia's dress is perfectly suitable for society, however you cannot continue to walk around in men's breeches' Wickham stated and led us out of the room and swiftly down the road to the nearest tailor.

The woman got down to business straight away as soon as she was sure that we were able to pay. Amanda changed into a ready made dress that George picked out and the woman continued to make alterations whilst George gave Amanda tips on how to fit into society, at the moment he was educating her in the art of using a fan and seemingly lying about having contacts in France. I remained quiet and in the corner of the room. I managed to fit well enough into society already… as long as I wasn't around George Wickham. At one point Manda asked George why he was doing this and George cleverly diverted the question. However, neither Manda nor I missed the quick glance he gave to me.

After the dress and lessons were finished we paid and left the shop to go out into the street. George and Manda were now talking about marriage.

'I am the one person around here who is absolutely not going to marry anybody. Rich or otherwise. I've buggered up this story and now I have to un-bugger it by rebuilding my friendship with Jane Collins. I'm going to write her a letter.' Manda rambled; well at least she had a plan. I had no idea what we were going to do. We had no money to buy us a room anywhere.

'Clever' commented George.

'And if you don't like it, you can take your dress… what?' Manda stuttered as she realised what he had actually said. I gave a small laugh and this and George looked at me with a stunning smile.

'You should be reconciled with Jane. She shall invite you to her house which is in the grounds of Rosings, which is owned by Darcy's dismal Aunt Catherine, who is the cloaca through which all society must pass.' George continued.

'Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. The person I am most utterly not going to marry is Darcy.' Contradicted Manda, even though George had not suggested it.

'I did not suggest it. And yet you thought of it. It's interesting' smirked George 'Go to Jane at once, forget the letter' with this he hired a cab for Amanda. She climbed into the cab and waited for me to enter but I hesitated.

'I hardly know Jane or Mr Collins. I would hardly be welcome in their house. I would only obstruct your chances of reconciling yourself with Jane' I reasoned, I had no idea what I was to do.

'Where will you go though? You have no money?' Manda voiced, clearly concerned for her younger sister.

'I would hardly let your sister become destitute' George interjected. 'She can stay with me, I will ensure that she is fed and kept safe'

'You better had do, Wickham. I'm trusting you with this.' Manda told him sternly as she closed the cab door. As it started moving she hung out of the window and yelled back at him 'And keep your hands to yourself!'


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

I looked back at George awkwardly, I was still partially angry at him for creating the tale about the fishmonger. It was his fault that Jane was now married to Collins. Now, I was reliant on him for god knows how long whilst Manda was away. I had no where else to turn.

I reluctantly glanced up at George and I almost swooned at the gentle expression on his face. Yes! Swooned! I'd never even used that word before but it seemed highly appropriate. I blushed furiously and my knees seemed to go weak and I felt that I was on the verge of collapsing.

'Are you hungry?' he asked softly.

I simply nodded as I feared that if I opened my mouth to speak, only gibberish would come out. My brain didn't seem to be functioning properly.

George tucked my hand into the crook of his arm. He led me back to the inn and proceeded to sit us down and order food and drink for the both of us. He made polite conversation with me continuously whilst staring deeply into my eyes. I mustn't have been very good as company as I replied very little. I was too entranced by his eyes to reply. When I wasn't staring at him, my head was spinning with the amount that had happened to me in the last couple of days.

'Are you ok?' he asked gently, resting his hand slightly over mine that rested on the table but was now shaking slightly.

'I think I need to rest. I am very dizzy' I said faintly. The events of the last few days had finally caught up with me and I was now exhausted. Yet, somehow I felt protected by being with George. Deep down, I knew he would let nothing happen to me. I really was in love with him; I couldn't keep myself in denial any longer.

He wrapped an arm gently around my waist and led me back to the room from earlier. We were walking back down the corridor when me legs seemed to not be able to carry my wait anymore. He saw me collapse slightly and swiftly swooped me up into his arms; just like the first day I met him.

'I remember the last time I carried you like this' he smiled at me, his hand sliding down to my bottom. 'The last time, I touched you hear I desperately wanted to tell you how nice of an arse you have but wouldn't have dared in front of the Bennet's. Now I am free to let you know.' He smirked at me but I was too tired to care right now. I laid my head gently against his shoulder and gave into the tiredness that seemed to be pressing upon me from the very air. The last thing I remember before giving in to unconsciousness was a soft kiss being placed upon my forehead and George whispering, 'Sleep.'


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

I woke, feeling very disorientated. At first, I felt that I should be at home in Hammersmith. Then memories returned to me, thinking I was in the Bennett home. Only when I looked up to find George asleep very awkwardly in an armchair did I remember where I was.

I watched him sleep and smiled. He looked so handsome in his sleep, not that he didn't when he was awake. However, I felt guilty that he was asleep so awkwardly, it must be very uncomfortable for him and here I was stealing the bed that he was rightfully paying for.

I continued to watch him with thoughts of my feelings for him running through my head. I was so distracted by these thoughts that I did not realise that he had awakened and was smiling at me with a look on his face that once again I could no identify.

He got up out of the chair and made me feel even guiltier as he winced as he moved his neck. It was obviously sore as he had slept with it in an uncomfortable position. He grinned as he saw the look of concern on my face. He silently went over to the dresser and pulled out a stunning dress for me to wear. I looked at him very confused. If he had had a dress all along then why hadn't he just given it to Manda, rather than having to go to the rouble of buying her a dress?

George clearly saw the question in my face and quickly explained. 'I wanted you to have this dress. I haven't been able to get you out of my head. I saw this dress in the shop window the other day and knew that it would look stunning on you. This dress is for you alone. Please accept it, along with my apology about the fishmonger tale' he had walked closer to me as he was talking and stroked my cheek. I couldn't help but lean into his hand as his rough fingers caressed by cheek.

'Ok' I whispered.

'I'll go fetch us some breakfast while you get changed' he said quietly and gently leant down to brush his lips gently against my cheek. He then pulled back and strode quickly out of the door but not before he turned back to me and shot me another heart-warming smile. This man was quickly wearing down all of my defences.

I quickly got changed and found that I loved the dress. It was beautiful but I am also sure that it had something to do with it being a gift from George. He re-entered the room and stopped for a second when he saw me, just gazing at me proudly at me wearing his dress. He then seemed to manage to shake himself out of his trance and gave me some fruit that he had managed to acquire for out breakfast.

The rest of the day we walked about town. Anyone would most likely have mistaken us for a couple due to the looks we kept sending each other when we thought that the other was not looking. We talked about various things; nothing in particular and I found it remarkable that I felt this comfortable with him. I felt that I could tell him anything and that we would never run out of things to talk about. The conversation eventually fell on the subject of Jane and Collins.

'She is not supposed to marry Collins, she is supposed to marry Bingley' I ranted.

'So you keep saying, yet this is not what has happened. You say the most odd things sometimes' George said, giving me a curious look.

I'm not entirely sure why I did it. I trusted him, even though a part of me was telling me that I shouldn't trust him with this yet. I told him about how Manda and me arrived in this world; I told him everything, even about Pride and Prejudice.

He looked at me incredulously yet he seemed to believe me. 'So this is all a fictional story?' I simply nodded. 'Then you must know my fate?'

My mind suddenly flashed to Georgiana and Lydia. My hand dropped from the crook of his arm where it had been nestled for the majority of the day. 'Yes' I whispered painfully, jealousy was flooding me and it pained me to think that if everything ended up true to the novel, then I could never be with George. 'I can't tell you that though. It would change things; not that everything hasn't changed just by me and Manda being here. Jane is supposed to marry Bingley and right now Elizabeth and Darcy are supposed to be falling in love. Everyone is supposed to live happily ever after and we've changed everything. Everything is going wrong.' Tears began to roll down my face as I realised the extent that we had interfered with everyone's happiness.

'Happily ever after?' George asked as he gently wiped away the tears from my cheeks with his thumb.

'It's a term we use back home at the end of a story when everyone has a happy ending. The characters will live happily together for the rest of their lives' I explained.

'I'm sure if fate has her way, then everything will work out for the best' he smiled, 'now; let us return to the inn'.

We dined and then returned to the room. 'I had a lovely day George. Thank you.' I smiled.

'I love it when you say my name' he whispered and placed a kiss upon my forehead. 'You take the bed and I shall retire to the armchair.'

'I feel bad. I know that your neck has been troubling you all evening, don't even try to deny it. You take the bed and I shall take the armchair' I said finally and then quickly withdrew into the bathroom to change into my night clothes.

I returned to find George had removed his shirt and I blushed at the sight of his chest. I had seen many guys in the modern day without a shirt but this seemed different. I moved past him to head towards the armchair, when he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me back against his bare chest.

'We are both too stubborn to allow the other to sleep uncomfortably in an armchair. The only solutions that we are presented with are to both share the armchair, or both share the bed. Now, I think that we would both be more comfortable in the bed. There is plenty of room and I am a gentleman of honour, I promise you that I would not touch you'

'Fine but I'm not sure I like this' I said reluctantly.

'Fine but I think you are lying in that respect' George whispered back and smirked when I blushed as I could not deny the truth in what he had said. When I was close to George I felt safe and could think of nothing better than spending the night close to him.

We both climbed into the bed but remained a safe distance from each other. I knew that if I got closer to him then I would not be able to resist kissing him. I needed to keep my head straight. I rolled over so that my back was to him and closed my eyes so that I could try to clear my thoughts and get some sleep.

I heard George sigh and settle back into the pillow. 'Goodnight love' he whispered quietly and I had no idea if I was supposed to hear that or if he thought I was asleep. Great, now I would never get to sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

I found myself very comfortable when I next awoke. I buried my head deeper into the pillow. That was when I heard a heartbeat. Pillows didn't have heartbeats! I opened my eyes cautiously and found myself in very close proximity to George's face. Sometime in the night we had managed to intertwine. I was curled into his side with his arms wrapped protectively around me and our legs intertwined. My head lay gently on his chest, making his heartbeat echo in my ear and emphasised the fact that our hearts were beating in perfect unison as cheesy as it sounded. Although, this began to change as my heart sped up due to my realisation of our intimate position.

I tried to move away from him slowly without waking him and making him realise what position we were in. He must be a remarkably light sleeper, as the second I began to move away from him, his eyes flickered open and came to rest on me with a gentle smile blossoming on his face.

'Good morning' he said softly. 'It would be a perfect was to start each morning; with you in my arms'. I couldn't stop the grin from emerging on my face with his heartfelt line. It set off a reel of images in my mind of the possibilities of such a scenario.

As I was distracted with the sudden rush of images running through my head; George had meanwhile pulled me closer, unnoticed by me, and his arms tightened around me to gain my attention once more. He was so close now that I could do nothing but stare at him and smile; no words could express the feelings running through me. I so wanted to tell him how I felt but the other half still wanted the happy ending for Pride and Prejudice.

'I wish I could make you smile like that for every moment of every day' he whispered gently to me. He was now so close that his breath seemed to linger on my face. With this simple statement he pulled my body flush against his and gently kissed me on the lips. Our lips moved together in harmony and all thoughts left my head, leaving a blissful peace. My arms went around his neck to become even closer to him if that was even possible. He chuckled into the kiss and placed his hands around my waist.

His hands then suavely moved up my waist and brushed the underside of my breasts. This then knocked me out of my kiss induced daze and I pulled away from him. He tried to pull me back to him but I effectively put some distance between us and had to move myself to the edge of the bed to stop myself from launching myself back into his arms.

'What is wrong?' he asked me clearly concerned by my sudden change of heart. The look on his face was almost heartbreaking and it looked as if he felt that he had done something wrong and was about to launch into an apology.

'It's nothing that's your fault. It's just… I… I've never done this sort of thing before… I didn't want to get carried away. I try to take things slowly when I'm around you but you seem to sweep me away and I get caught up in the tide' I struggled to explain. I wasn't even sure that any of my words made sense. By this point I was rather anxious that he wouldn't understand or would laugh at my innocence and so I had stood up from the bed and was pacing up and down the room.

'Eli' he said softly in a voice that made me want to melt, although I still couldn't look at him. He came up behind me and turned me around and then lifted my chin with his hand to make me look him in the eyes. 'I love the fact that you are so innocent and that I am the first one to make you feel this way. We will take things as slow as you wish. You decide how far to take things and I will take whatever you are willing to give me. I… care for you' he murmured softly.

Before I could say anything else, we were interrupted by a firm knock at the door. I realised that it must be nearing midday and so I snatched up the dress that George had presented me with yesterday and moved behind the screen to change out of my nightclothes. I heard George conversing with a gentleman at the door and then close the door again. As I emerged from behind the screen George handed me a small piece of folded paper and an envelope and said with a smirk, 'I believe that this is for you.' He then proceeded to sit in the armchair with a newspaper that he had also gotten from the gentleman at the door and read this while waiting for me to read the piece of paper he had given me.

On one of the folded sides was the following message:

Dear Wickham,

Although this letter was addressed to you, it is not for you. Sorry to disappoint you. I doubt that anyone at the inn will know my sister and so won't know where to deliver the letter. That is why it is addressed to you.

Please pass this on to Elicia as soon as possible and don't read it yourself, it is not for you! Oh, and you better be looking after my sister properly and keeping your hands to yourself. Don't make me come after you!

From

Amanda Price

I chuckled at this message; that was typical of Manda. George looked up at my laugh and smiled gently, obviously happy to see me happy. I unfolded the rest of the letter that was specifically for me.

Eli,

You would never believe what has gone down here. I stayed with Jane and everything is fine between us again, even though she is miserable there with Collins. Lady Catherine is a complete bitch as well and I had to dine with her and guess who else was there? Darcy! He was his arrogant self as usual until he paid a visit to the Collins late one night to see me. He said that he didn't understand what was going on and to be perfectly honest I didn't understand what the hell he was even talking about. Then, I swear to God he tried to kiss me and then ran off into the middle of the night!

I'm so confused Eli, I wish you were here. You were always the voice of reason. You are always so good with relationship advice, I never understood how when you've not been through it all yourself; although maybe that just gives you a good perspective on it all. I'm just so confused because he needs to be with Elizabeth but she's not here. What do I do? Jane thinks he's in love with me but it makes no sense!

Anyway, I saw him last night again. He apologised for the whole Jane and Bingers situation. Can you imagine, Darcy, stick-up-his-ass Darcy, apologised to me! He's invited me to stay at Pemberley. Of course, Mrs Bennet heard this invitation and so he has extended this invitation to Mrs Bennet, Lydia, you and me. Please come, I need you here to help me sort out all of this mess. In the envelope I've sent enough money for you to get to Pemberley, providing it hasn't been stolen along the way. Please get there as soon as possible; I should be arriving there sometime this afternoon.

Hoping to see you soon,

Manda x

'What tidings does your sister send?' George asked from across the room.

'She has reconciled with Jane and has been asked to stay at Pemberley by Mr Darcy' I shared with a smile, thinking of how confused my sister would be at this moment. She seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact that she was clearly falling in love with Mr Darcy. 'She has asked me to join her at Pemberley'

'Well, we should get a cab as soon as possible, should we not?' commented George.

'NO!' I yelled. It suddenly dawned on me that I would have to leave George behind. He could not come to Pemberley, Darcy would be furious. Then the reason that he would be furious sprung into my mind, creating an onslaught of terrible thoughts about what Wickham had done in the past. I couldn't refer to the book character as George, they were two separate people in my mind and I had been treating them as such. It was difficult for me to comprehend that they were both the same person.

'Why ever not?' he asked calmly, taking in the look of turmoil on my face.

'Georgiana…' the word slipped out of my mouth as a whisper without me intentionally willing it to.

That was the moment that his eyes lost the warmth and glow that they had in them for the last couple of days. His eyes turned cold and hard and I had to avert my gaze to avoid the anger in them. I hated the fact that this anger was directed at me.

'You always want to believe the worst in me aren't you?' he asked disbelievingly.

'What's that supposed to mean?' I asked, utterly confused by that statement. He'd tried to seduce Georgiana so that he could get money out of Darcy, how could he defend that?

'It doesn't matter. Go to your sister and enjoy your time with Darcy and Georgiana' he seemed to spit the names at me. He was suddenly very hostile and his harsh words sent jolts of sadness straight to my heart. The tears began to fall slowly from my eyes as I collected my other dress and began to leave the room as fast as possible.

Just before I left he grabbed my wrist and stopped me, swinging me round to face him. I was unable to hide the tears steadily streaming down my face at the anger that was directed at me but I couldn't understand why. His eyes softened once more as he saw my tears and he wiped them away gently with the rough pad of his thumb. I turned away again still confused and hurt by his outburst and turned and walked out of the inn, leaving George behind me.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

The carriage ride to Pemberley was particularly long and I couldn't handle the overwhelming feeling that I was completely alone. I tried to hold back the tears for most of the journey and for most of the journey, I wasn't successful. When the carriage driver announced that we were almost there, I looked out of the window to behold a magnificent house. I couldn't find it in myself to enjoy the view though, it just continued to remind me of how insignificant I felt. God, I sounded so pathetic!

The driver pulled up to the front of the house behind another carriage. Amanda came immediately out of the large house and hugged me tightly to her.

'You would never believe what has happened in the last couple of days' she whispered. I smiled weakly back at her.

'How is Darcy?' I asked.

'Not amazing now that you have brought Wickham with you' Manda said disapprovingly at me. I gasped in shock. 'What had you forgotten about the situation between Georgiana, Darcy and Wickham? Why did you bring him with you?' she asked.

'I didn't' I hissed at her. 'I left him at the inn. Why has he come here?'

'I think we'd better go and find out' Manda replied.

'Manda, wait. I think I need to tell you something first' I said quietly but loud enough that she could hear me, tears beginning to well in my eyes again. Manda led me over to a bench in Darcy's garden and I told her the whole story of what happened between me and Wickham whilst she was away.

'That bastard! I told him to keep his hands to himself!' she exclaimed as I laughed at her comment. 'Come on; let's find out why he's here. Maybe he came to apologise to you' she said as she dragged me towards the stables.

As we approached the stables we heard the drunken ramblings on Bingley. My heart sunk somehow to know that he hadn't followed to apologise. 'I'll stay here' I said, 'You find out why he's here' I couldn't bring myself to face him yet and Manda seemed to understand that. She stormed off to confront him whilst I crept forward to listen to George's explanation.

'You're a fool if you think Darcy will tolerate your presence here.' Manda began.

'Bingley came to me in pursuit of oblivion; and he found it for a pleasant evening and now he is delivered back to Pemberley undamaged. Darcy is in my debt.' He relied smoothly. So after I had left him he proceeded to get drunk with Bingley. This was the return of Wickham. The George that I knew was hidden behind the cold sarcastic mask.

'House rules Wickham. Lydia: hands off. Georgiana: hands off big time. My sister don't even touch her' Manda defended both me and trying to protect the characters in the story despite what she knew must happen with Lydia.

'Don't worry about your sister, I won't go near her' this made me want to sob. How had he gone from so caring this morning to completely heartless? Tears ran down my face in earnest, particularly when I heard him begin to chuckle and Amanda ask; 'What?'

'This is good. You have chosen precisely the man that I wish you to choose. Swellerando. Master of Pemberley. Brava' he mocked.

'I know why you want me to do this. If you could somehow engineer it that Darcy and I get married then what happens to frosty knickers?' It dawned on me what Amanda was talking about, he was after Caroline Bingley! Was he just stringing me along in the hope of having sex with me all this time?

'I presume by that disparaging epithet that you refer to the sublime Miss Bingley.' This only continued to back up this idea; he thought she was 'sublime'. My heart was breaking at every word.

'She gets scooped up by you. You and your galloping bloody horse.' Amanda yelled at him.

'Caroline is rather rich. You know maybe she is the love of my life.' The rest of the conversation blurred around me and I heard nothing else. What had I been thinking? He could never love me! Of course he would want to go after someone beautiful and rich. I had actually thought that he was different from the character in the book. How could he be? He was merely that… a fictional character. Amanda stormed passed me but gave me a sympathetic look as she left.

I stepped out of my hiding place and Wickham looked up to see me. He looked stunned for a minute. 'Eli… wait; I can explain' he began, looking frantic and desperate. If I was being honest, he looked rough and about to cry. It must have been my imagination. I walked backwards as he attempted to walk closer to me with his arm outstretched toward me as if that would keep me from fleeing. I then turned quickly with a sob and fled the stables as fast as I could. I couldn't face him. I didn't want to look into that face and remember everything that I would never have.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

I wanted nothing more to hide away in a quiet corner somewhere and cry until I had no more tears left. However, I did not know my way around the estate and Amanda had informed me earlier that we were to have tea on the lawn with the rest of the guests. I wiped my eyes and attempted to look as normal as possible as I made my way towards the marquees on the lawn. Several people glanced at me and I knew I was fooling no one. I had no idea how I looked but I could guess. When I cry, my whole face tends to go red and my eyes go unbelievably puffy.

I sat down silently at the table, away from everyone else, happy to be alone and ignoring all of the conversations going on around me. However, I could not avoid the stares of Wickham. He was sat at a different table but I could feel his gaze burning into the side of my face but I refused to look at him and instead looked out to where some of the gentlemen were shooting. He was sat with Caroline Bingley and this fact made me want to break down again.

However, I couldn't help but glance over at him. Despite everything, there was still something about him that captured my heart and this just made everything that much more painful. He looked over again and caught my eye. He looked so guilty as he took in my tear-stained face. He somehow looked horrified to see me upset and I looked away quickly, I needed to stop tempting myself with something that could never be.

I looked up as the chair next to me was pulled out. I looked up and was caught in George's gaze. I couldn't take it anymore; I couldn't pretend that everything was fine. Tears spilled out of my eyes once more and I fled quickly towards the house, not caring that I did not know my way. I only glanced back once to check that he was not following me. I was almost disappointed; he wasn't.

**That was just for Superdani because you are an awesome reviewer and you motivate me to write. Thanks **


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

I wandered around the manor house for a while. It was so large that it felt as though I was alone and this helped me to pull myself together again. I was walking down a long corridor when Amanda came speed-walking towards me in excitement. She slowed her pace and looked at me sympathetically when she took in my appearance, gave me a hug and wiped away my tears.

I straightened myself out and asked 'What's got you so excited then?'

She launched straight into a long story about talking with Darcy and something about a wet shirt and finally exclaimed 'He loves me!'

I smiled and was unbelievably happy for my sister as she explained that she thought that she had been brought here to replace Elizabeth. She deserved this happiness and more. However, deep down I just kept wishing that things were so simple for me. That my heart hadn't been broken and that Lydia, Georgiana and Caroline weren't in this story. Part of me also wondered what would happen as obviously Manda would be staying here with Darcy. I couldn't stay and face Wickham? Even remaining in the time period would remind me of him. Could I say goodbye to my sister?

Manda noticed that my thoughts weren't particularly pleasant and so she took me by the hand. 'Come on, let's go for a walk. The grounds are so beautiful and peaceful. They'll take your mind of Wickham… for a while at least.'

We walked through the halls towards the gardens until we walked past a slightly open door. Manda did a double take and led us backward slightly and peered in. Inside sat a girl, young and innocent, arranging a dolls house.

'Hello' Manda said as the girl took notice of our presence.

'Hello. My brother has told me to stay in this room.' She said rather shyly and looking rather startled by our presence in her room. I merely nodded at her as I did not trust myself to speak without crying again.

'Good advice.'

'Why?'

'I would have thought… because of… what happened… to you… with Wickham.' Amanda tried to say delicately whilst looking at me. She could tell her words hurt me.

'What you have been told happened to me, is not what happened.' Georgiana stated. I looked up completely confused. Of course, it was true. It was in the novel. 'My nurse conceived a passion for Mr Wickham. She took me away with her to a place where she could encounter him as though by hazard. For this enterprise, I was the mask. But I had fallen in love with him. Every instant that her back was turned, I offered myself to him. He called me his 'sweet child', his 'adorable child', but a child nonetheless and he refused me. So, I went to my brother and I told him that George had ravished me.' My mouth flew open as her story unravelled. I couldn't believe that this girl had done so much to harm George's reputation. He had committed no crime and yet he treated as guilty.

'Jeepers.' Was all that Manda could think of to say. . I left the room swiftly and walked alone for a while. I needed to get my head around this revelation. After a while, Amanda came and found me again. This time she was the one that was crying. Darcy had rejected her because she wasn't a virgin, the bastard. She also mentioned that she was upset because in her anger she had torn up her copy of Pride and Prejudice and thrown it out of the window. I couldn't help but smile at the thought of this. I comforted her but Amanda was always the resilient one and she managed to spring back and wanted to help me with my problems instead. This brought back all the thoughts that had been racing around my head since our run in with Georgiana.

I began pacing up and down the corridor. 'What do I do Amanda? This is all my fault! This is what he meant. I didn't trust him. I believed the worst in him' I ranted.

'This isn't your fault. How were you supposed to know? It was written in the novel and he knows that you know the novel. It's not as if he denied it. Besides, it still gives him no excuse for what he said about Caroline' Manda reassured me. 'However, I think we should go see Mr Wickham and see what the hell is actually going on.'


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

'I can't face him, Manda. I just can't' I panicked as we stood near the entrance of the stable.

'I'll go speak to him then. You stay here. Out of sight… again' she smiled and I gave her a relieved look. I don't know what I would do without her sometimes.

'I've been talking to Georgiana. What a determined little girl.' Amanda began. I edged closer to the stable so that I could hear the conversation between her and George.

'Don't tell Darcy. He'd throw her out.' He said softly. I couldn't believe what a fool I'd been. He was a wonderful man and had done nothing wrong but I'd thought the very worst of him. I deserved it if he chose not to forgive me. However, there was still Caroline and Lydia to think of; I couldn't cast them out of my mind.

'Letting it circulate that you seduced Georgiana, to protect her. I'm sorry George, but that's honourable. I got you all wrong… and so did Eli. It's not her fault you know' Amanda said gently.

'It's more fun that way... and I know. I don't blame her.' He said softly. He then noticed that something was the matter with Manda. 'What's the matter here?

'Darcy said he loved me. I said I loved him more and then I found myself obliged to tell him a little bit too much about myself' she explained.

'And he has rewarded your candour by casting you into outer darkness.' He said and at his words Amanda began to cry again. At this I very nearly entered the stable to give her a hug but couldn't quite bring myself to face him yet. 'Oh well, Caroline Bingley is an ocean going whore and she has no arse to speak of. Marriage to her would have been tiresome. I also only said what I said about Miss Bingley to get a rise out of you. I didn't mean a word. You know what I think Miss Price? I think you are a girl who is a very long way from home.'

With this Amanda left the stable and gave me a look that clearly said 'talk to him' before she left. I slowly walked towards the stable as noiselessly as possible because I was still unsure of whether I was going to be a coward and just run away and avoid his disappointment in me. He had his back turned to me and was placing a saddle in the corner. He looked rather rugged and handsome in just a shirt and waistcoat, without his usual militia uniform.

However, I obviously wasn't as quiet as I thought I was and jumped when he said, 'Do you always eavesdrop in stables?'

'Only when you're concerned apparently' I said with a soft laugh, unsure of whether I should joke about this or not.

He turned around and I couldn't decipher the look in his eyes but it either made me want to run and hide or melt into his arms. I'm not entirely sure what I said but I began to babble an apology about how I didn't trust him and I'm pretty sure that the majority of it came out as gibberish. However, I was cut off abruptly when he firmly grabbed my face and pulled me into a passionate kiss.

It seemed to go on forever and every other thought but him was eclipsed from my mind. I grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him closer because I didn't want to be without him anymore. I'd messed up, but so had he. I was merely making up for lost time.

He eventually pulled away slightly but our bodies remained pressed together intimately as he rested his forehead against mine. 'I am so sorry. I will never to be able to apologise enough. I blamed you for something that you had no reason to know because I didn't tell you. Then what I said about Caroline. I swear I didn't mean what I said. I could only see myself marrying…. For love' he said softly. For a moment I wasn't sure whether to confess my love to him but I hesitated as I wasn't sure that it was the right time. The decision was taken out of my hands when he pressed his lips to mine again and all thoughts, once more, vanished from my mind. For the moment, I was happy in George's arms and everything seemed to be perfect.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

I had been looking for Manda for awhile but could find her nowhere. After Darcy had rejected her, I guessed that she wouldn't want to stick around and so George was preparing a carriage to take us back to the inn. I decided to wait for her instead in the room that had been prepared for her. She came running to me in floods of tears, clutching her half torn copy of Pride and Prejudice and threw herself into my arms.

'I've ruined everything with Darcy and I have absolutely nowhere to go. But that's alright; the worst that can happen is that I just… die! The worst is, I never see Darcy again, ever.' She sobbed into my shoulder. It took a while for me to calm her down enough for me to get the full story out of her. Darcy had read parts of Pride and Prejudice and thought that she was absolutely dreadful for writing a story about people who had looked after her. 'The worst part is, he doesn't even know what is going on under his nose with Georgiana and Wickham and thinks that I have just made the whole drama into a novel to profit from it'. I just held her until her tears stopped and she made herself look presentable so that we could go down to the stable and leave this place.

We were startled when we were disturbed by a small tap on the door. A young servant girl entered meekly and said 'Miss Price and Miss Price, your presences have been requested in the drawing room.'

Manda gave me a suspicious look and I couldn't help but agree that nothing good could come of this. We entered the drawing room to see that everyone on the estate seemed to have been called to this gathering. To my amazement, even George had been summoned from the stables and so I made my way to his side.

'Why does Swellerando summon his guests?' George whispered to me and Manda, making us both smile. 'Do we know?'

It was at this moment that another servant entered the room and gave a letter to Mrs Bennet. However, no one but me and Manda noticed this as Mr Darcy cleared his throat to get everyone's notice.

'Ladies and gentlemen, it is a poor host who neglects to keep his guests abreast of local news. I have asked Miss Bingley to be my wife and she has consented to the task. Thank you for your attention, dinner is at six.' Manda gasped so quietly that only George and I could hear it. I couldn't believe it, only earlier was Darcy claiming that he loved my sister and now he was engaged to Caroline! I clasped Manda's hand in mine and she looked up slightly and made herself smile, probably in an attempt to stop herself crying again.

Suddenly, Mrs Bennet wailed loudly and ran out of the room crying at the top of her lungs, leaving a startled Jane with the letter that contained whatever news in it that had made her cry. Jane quickly read the letter and seemed just as disturbed as her mother but kept it under better control. She swiftly walked to Manda, 'You must come! Come!' she said whilst pulling Manda away by her arm.

I was left with George and the other guests in the room whilst Mr Collins decided to offer his congratulations to Darcy and that bitch. George looked at me, rather concerned with the anguish on my face. He wrapped his arms around me from behind and pulled my tightly against his chest, offering me such comfort that I didn't care who saw us and what they thought.

'How could he do this to Manda? Either he's a cold-hearted bastard and he can flit between loving people, or he's even more of a cold-hearted bastard and he never loved Manda in the first place! I'm going to say something to him!' I was fully prepared to march right over to Darcy and give him a piece of my mind for hurting my sister.

However, George kept me securely against his chest. 'He's not worth it and it probably won't aid your sister. He's a cold-hearted bastard anyway, not worth your time' George said whilst stroking up and down my arms which didn't fail to calm me. I became so relaxed that I sank back into his arms and rested my head against his shoulder. He placed a kiss gently on my neck that made me sigh. However, the perfect moment was ruined by Swellerando and Caroline glaring at us.

'They glare because they envy the relationship that they will never have' George whispered in my ear, which made me giggle.

'I must go find my sister and see what afflicts Mrs Bennet now. Are you coming?' I asked over my shoulder.

'Of course, madam. I could not allow a beautiful, single young woman to wander around on her own. Who knows what sort of things may befall you? Some man may take a fancy to you and sweep you away' George mocked.

'I already have a man who does enough of that' I replied and he grinned back at me whilst entwining our hands together.

'I don't think we had to look too hard' George whispered to me, as Mrs Bennet cam running, yes running, towards us whilst shouting, 'What shoes does she have?'

'Do you think she has finally gone insane?' I asked him as she passed us, taking completely no notice of us. I was actually rather concerned, I had never seen her this happy, but what she was shouting did not seem to fit with her happiness.

We headed to another sitting room where we found Jane just leaving, looking rather close to tears and Manda stood near the window looking rather grim. Jane left and I ran to Manda. 'What's happened? What is Mrs Bennet so happy about, yet Jane so sad?'

'Lydia has run away with Mr Bingley. Jane convinced Mrs Bennet that he will marry Lydia' Manda said quickly as my mouth fell open in shock.

'No! That is not supposed to happen!' I yelled but then quickly looked at the floor as I realised that this was my entire fault. If I hadn't distracted George then he would have been free to leave with Lydia. Somehow, my heart didn't agree with this conclusion as it seemed to contract painfully. Manda and I both turned to look at George who looked confused.

'So Lydia has run away with Bingley? Where to?' he asked.

'We don't know' Manda replied.

'Why are you both looking at me like that? Please don't look at me like that, like your heart is breaking' he added, saying directly to me as he gently stroked my cheek.

I pulled away, 'This is all my fault. This never would have happened if I had never come here, if I hadn't been so selfish' I began to cry.

'You need to tell him Eli' Manda said gently as I began to cry more.

'Tell me what?' George was completely bewildered now.

Manda gave me a quick hug and then left the room. George wrapped his arms around me and comforted me until I calmed down, just how I had dealt with Manda earlier.

'Now, tell me what?' he asked. I pulled away from him in preparation for this tale.

'I know that I told you that I wouldn't tell you what happens to you in the book but I'm going to have to now. In the book, it's you who runs away with Lydia. You take her away, I can't remember where right now, but once your found, you only agree to marry Lydia for a large sum of money' I cried. I couldn't bring myself to believe that George would have done that.

'What?' he said as he took a few steps away from me, which nearly made me break down entirely. I just nodded knowing that he didn't really want an answer; he was just shocked at what I had said.

He suddenly swooped down on me and pulled me tightly into his arms as if he never wished to let go. 'You know I would never do that! I would never betray you like that! Whatever happens, was meant to happen and it will all work out fine.'

'I know' I said gently as I stroked his cheek. Just like that, he had somehow managed to reassure me that perhaps things would work out ok. 'I just can't help feeling that it's my fault everything's messed up. If I wasn't so selfish in regards to you then…' I broke off unable to finish.

'Either way, I wouldn't have run off with Lydia. She is an annoying chit and I'm far more selfish than you. I would have continued to pursue you until you gave in. One way or another, I would have made you mine' he smiled down at me. 'Now let us return to the drawing room before people believe that I have whisked you away somewhere to dishonour you.' He kissed me gently on the cheek and escorted me back to the drawing room.

As we entered the drawing room I was slightly concerned to see Manda talking to Darcy, however felt slightly better that she was clearly getting everything off her chest. She told him off about Bingley and also mildly insulted Caroline and Darcy. I wanted to laugh at the disgruntled look that Manda left on Darcy's face as she walked towards me and George.

'Eli, I've been asked to escort Mrs Bennet home, I have to go now, the carriage is prepared. Do you want to come with me or…' she trailed off clearly looking at George and asking if I wanted to stay with him.

'I'll stay here overnight. Darcy gave George his own room and I'll commandeer yours. Then I'll follow you in the morning. I'd rather not remain in a carriage with Mrs Bennet if I can help it' I laughed.

'I'll see you soon then.' She said as she gave me a hug. 'You take care of her Wickham' she glared at him playfully as she left me in George's capable hands.


End file.
